A Large Cave

(This encounter took more than one session to resolve. It started during our meeting of 28 Jul, 2007, carried
over to our meeting on the 11th of Aug, 2007, and continued on to the 25th of August.
This is a synopsis from the third day of the encounter.)

Legend - The cave and the party members

(Note: Some of the material presented in this synopsis/on this map is player info only. It is up to the players
to assess this information, and use only the information that the character is aware of.)

The cavern itself can be divided into three major sections. The antechamber, the low cavern, and the high cavern. Here is a brief description of each section:

A. The antechamber:
Somewhat kidney shaped, this moderately sized room has rough dimensions of: ~25' long, ~10' wide, and 25' high. The party entered this room at the top of one end, and exited near floor level in the middle of one wall. A small (3' wide) passageway is just to the right of the entrance. This is where Zeddishous fought a solo skirmish with a small group of urquirsh. The antechamber is currently (as we begin our session of 25 August, 2007) occupied by Flash. All the characters and urquirsh have entered the main chamber of the big cave.

B. The high cavern:
This section of the cavern is something of a stove pipe. With rough dimensions of: ~65' long, ~45' wide, and 50' high. This portion of the cavern is shaped something like a butterfly. This section of the cavern contains two shelves (one 40' up from the cavern floor, and the other 50' up from the cavern floor), and the passage (5' long) to the antechamber (50' up from a pool of water at the cavern floor). The sides of this section ascend in a fairly sheer manner to a flat cavern roof, 50' up from the floor of the antechamber, 100' from the cavern floor. The roof of the cavern is ringed by stalactites, a bed of fungus and various creepy crawlers which pose no (apparent) threat to the party. Tucked away near the ceiling (90' up) of the high cavern, is a small (3' wide) passageway that connects back to one of the myriad tunnels which snake through this mountain.

C. The low cavern:
This section of the cavern is a domed chamber where the high cavern meets it - appx ~45' up from the cavern floor. The shape of the low cavern mirrors that of the high cavern. It's shaped something like a moth or butterfly. The low chamber can be divided into two sections. Bisected by a small stream, the right half is appx ~40' high, and the left half has a height of appx ~50'. All of the party members are currently in the low cavern.

The chamber dividing center is defined by four features:
* A stream which bisects the chamber. The stream runs across the center of the room diagonally. It starts at the base of a large column, and terminates at a pool, just beneath the passage to the antechamber.
* This stream ends in a pool with dimensions of: 15' x 15' x 60' deep! The waters are very hot, and Thalidimar took a little dip in this pool. Nothing attacked him, but the pool is now home to four celestial porpoise, summoned by Thalidimar.
* At the far side of the low cavern is a large column. This stalactite/stalagmite formation is appx ~5' wide and ~100' high. Spiral in shape, it is coated in slick, slimy calcium deposits. Water continuously runs down it's surface. The water originates near the cavern ceiling, and becomes a stream at the bottom of the column.
* At the top of the column is a cave entrance. Leading away from this large cavern, the passageway carries a stream of water, which runs down the column. So far, nothing nasty has come out of this passage.

Where does that leave our party? Well, the primary purpose of this web page is an aid to play. We'll print it out before the next meeting, and work from it in order to set up the starting positions of all the characters. Towards that end, here is the situation for each character in the cavern complex:

1 - Thalidimar - In the left half of the lower chamber, Thalidimar is currently sickened from the stench of the urquirsh. He recently cast a 'Spiritual Weapon' spell, and that spell has 4 rounds remaining before duration. The spirit weapon is the purple stone on the map. At the moment, Thalidimar is engaged in combat with an urquirsh.
2 - Duracell - Recently returned from a trap induced absence, the party was beginning to worry about their flying heroine. Duracell is currently in the left half of the lower chamber. Flying 5' above the floor, she just picked up her batarang. Duracell is tainted. She's gone through all her taint protection, and currently has 1 point of taint.
3 - Zeddishous - Still missing Fang, Zedd has become a favorite target for the acid slinging urquirsh as he flies about the upper chamber. Zedd made a near fatal error a couple of rounds back. He landed on the pedestal in the right half of the lower chamber. As soon as he landed, a horde of urquirsh descended upon him. Their combined attack knocked him unconscious, and everyone is wondering whether he's still alive. Zeddishous is tainted. He's gone through all his taint protection, and currently has 2 points of taint.
4 - Tanar - In the left half of the lower chamber, Tanar is currently unconscious. urquirsh acid bombs have struck him down. In addition to the damage sustained during combat with the urquirsh, he is also sickened from the stench of the urquirsh, weakened from a wraith attack (-3 to CON), hampered by the hardened resin coating his body (-4 to DEX), and suffering under a -2 penalty to his initiative. Hopefully Dynnera and or Thalidimar can heal him.
5 - Grenco - Like Tanar, Grenco is also coated in the sticky resin spewed by the urquirsh (-4 to DEX). A few rounds back, he unleashed a tornado into the midst of this cave. As the tornado moves about randomly, it has a tendency to force movement amongst the cave inhabitants. Grenco is currently perched up on the pedestal in the right half of the lower chamber. Providing cover for Zeddishous, I hope he can heal the winged adventurer.
6 - Solmar - Completely unaffected by the acid and nausea, Solmar stands ready to do battle with the hostile inhabitants of this cavern. He's just crossed over into the right half of the lower chamber. He's drawing urquirsh off of Zedd, but even he can't hold out forever.
7 - Dynnera - Has moved down out of the antechamber, but she's suffered quite a bit of damage. Dynnera is currently disguised as a Duergar. I hope the party doesn't forget that the Duergar in their midst is actually Dynnera. Lee's character is currently under a -4 initiative penalty, has used her teleport ability three times, and she recently summoned some allies to help the party. A celestial hippogriff (6 rounds remaining (4 hp / 0 smite)) and owl (7 rounds remaining (0 smite)) stand ready to defend, distract, or attack at her command. With a healing potion in hand, will she be able to administer the magic potion before Tanar expires?
8 - Flash - Still following the party, curiously attracted to Grenco and Zeddishous. Even Flash has been sickened by the stench of the urquirsh. Flash is still up in the antechamber.

It's a big cave, full of hungry inhabitants. In this closed ecosystem, the introduction of a new food source has stimulated the permanent residents. Eager to consume this fresh meat, the scorpions and carrion crawlers battled for the tender flesh of the party members. While the party has dispatched the giant scorpions, the damage they caused will take quite some time to heal. In the meantime, the urquirsh have used the scorpions to their advantage. Now that the party is weakened, they're pressing their attack. With two party members unconscious, and a fierce battle still underway, the tide seems to be turning against the party. This could go go poorly for the party. Be sure to check back (at the journal), and find out how this battle plays out.

	The Big Cave The party encounters a large cave within Firestorm Peak The big cave - first session (28 Jul 2007) The big cave continued - second session (11 Aug 2007) The big cave finale - third session (25 Aug 2007)

	The party has spent the last few days exploring the seemingly endless caves and labyrinth like corridors which snake their way through the fetid heart of Firestorm Peak. On the 18th of Augot 1003, they discovered a very large cavern filled with curious natural formations, and nasty beasts. (This encounter took more than one session to resolve. It started during our meeting of 28 Jul, 2007, carried over to our meeting on the 11th of Aug, 2007, and continued on to the 25th of August. This is a synopsis from the third day of the encounter.) Legend - The cave and the party members (Note: Some of the material presented in this synopsis/on this map is player info only. It is up to the players to assess this information, and use only the information that the character is aware of.) The cavern itself can be divided into three major sections. The antechamber, the low cavern, and the high cavern. Here is a brief description of each section: A. The antechamber: Somewhat kidney shaped, this moderately sized room has rough dimensions of: ~25' long, ~10' wide, and 25' high. The party entered this room at the top of one end, and exited near floor level in the middle of one wall. A small (3' wide) passageway is just to the right of the entrance. This is where Zeddishous fought a solo skirmish with a small group of urquirsh. The antechamber is currently (as we begin our session of 25 August, 2007) occupied by Flash. All the characters and urquirsh have entered the main chamber of the big cave. B. The high cavern: This section of the cavern is something of a stove pipe. With rough dimensions of: ~65' long, ~45' wide, and 50' high. This portion of the cavern is shaped something like a butterfly. This section of the cavern contains two shelves (one 40' up from the cavern floor, and the other 50' up from the cavern floor), and the passage (5' long) to the antechamber (50' up from a pool of water at the cavern floor). The sides of this section ascend in a fairly sheer manner to a flat cavern roof, 50' up from the floor of the antechamber, 100' from the cavern floor. The roof of the cavern is ringed by stalactites, a bed of fungus and various creepy crawlers which pose no (apparent) threat to the party. Tucked away near the ceiling (90' up) of the high cavern, is a small (3' wide) passageway that connects back to one of the myriad tunnels which snake through this mountain. C. The low cavern: This section of the cavern is a domed chamber where the high cavern meets it - appx ~45' up from the cavern floor. The shape of the low cavern mirrors that of the high cavern. It's shaped something like a moth or butterfly. The low chamber can be divided into two sections. Bisected by a small stream, the right half is appx ~40' high, and the left half has a height of appx ~50'. All of the party members are currently in the low cavern. The chamber dividing center is defined by four features: * A stream which bisects the chamber. The stream runs across the center of the room diagonally. It starts at the base of a large column, and terminates at a pool, just beneath the passage to the antechamber. * This stream ends in a pool with dimensions of: 15' x 15' x 60' deep! The waters are very hot, and Thalidimar took a little dip in this pool. Nothing attacked him, but the pool is now home to four celestial porpoise, summoned by Thalidimar. * At the far side of the low cavern is a large column. This stalactite/stalagmite formation is appx ~5' wide and ~100' high. Spiral in shape, it is coated in slick, slimy calcium deposits. Water continuously runs down it's surface. The water originates near the cavern ceiling, and becomes a stream at the bottom of the column. * At the top of the column is a cave entrance. Leading away from this large cavern, the passageway carries a stream of water, which runs down the column. So far, nothing nasty has come out of this passage. The right half of the low cavern is defined by two primary features: * Near the center of this section, close to the bisecting stream, is a pedestal. Presumably the result of a broken column, the remains have long since been carted off or crushed into gravel. The pedestal. is appx ~10' across and ~20' high. Originally a perch for carrion crawlers, Grenco discovered that the giant scorpions have no problem climbing up onto this pedestal. This section of the cavern is currently occupied by Zeddishous, Grenco, Solmar, and a large number of urquirsh. * One corner of the lower chamber is occupied by a pit of sorts. Appx ~25' long and ~5' wide, the party has no idea how deep this pit is. A giant scorpion came up out of this pit, but the party hasn't had a chance to investigate it - yet. The left half of the low cavern is defined by one feature: * This section of the cavern is a large open space. Currently (as we begin our session of 8 September, 2007) this is where most of the party has taken up positions. As the party does battle with the remaining urquirsh, a couple carrion crawlers wait for their chance to scavenge the remains. Where does that leave our party? Well, the primary purpose of this web page is an aid to play. We'll print it out before the next meeting, and work from it in order to set up the starting positions of all the characters. Towards that end, here is the situation for each character in the cavern complex: 1 - Thalidimar - In the left half of the lower chamber, Thalidimar is currently sickened from the stench of the urquirsh. He recently cast a 'Spiritual Weapon' spell, and that spell has 4 rounds remaining before duration. The spirit weapon is the purple stone on the map. At the moment, Thalidimar is engaged in combat with an urquirsh. 2 - Duracell - Recently returned from a trap induced absence, the party was beginning to worry about their flying heroine. Duracell is currently in the left half of the lower chamber. Flying 5' above the floor, she just picked up her batarang. Duracell is tainted. She's gone through all her taint protection, and currently has 1 point of taint. 3 - Zeddishous - Still missing Fang, Zedd has become a favorite target for the acid slinging urquirsh as he flies about the upper chamber. Zedd made a near fatal error a couple of rounds back. He landed on the pedestal in the right half of the lower chamber. As soon as he landed, a horde of urquirsh descended upon him. Their combined attack knocked him unconscious, and everyone is wondering whether he's still alive. Zeddishous is tainted. He's gone through all his taint protection, and currently has 2 points of taint. 4 - Tanar - In the left half of the lower chamber, Tanar is currently unconscious. urquirsh acid bombs have struck him down. In addition to the damage sustained during combat with the urquirsh, he is also sickened from the stench of the urquirsh, weakened from a wraith attack (-3 to CON), hampered by the hardened resin coating his body (-4 to DEX), and suffering under a -2 penalty to his initiative. Hopefully Dynnera and or Thalidimar can heal him. 5 - Grenco - Like Tanar, Grenco is also coated in the sticky resin spewed by the urquirsh (-4 to DEX). A few rounds back, he unleashed a tornado into the midst of this cave. As the tornado moves about randomly, it has a tendency to force movement amongst the cave inhabitants. Grenco is currently perched up on the pedestal in the right half of the lower chamber. Providing cover for Zeddishous, I hope he can heal the winged adventurer. 6 - Solmar - Completely unaffected by the acid and nausea, Solmar stands ready to do battle with the hostile inhabitants of this cavern. He's just crossed over into the right half of the lower chamber. He's drawing urquirsh off of Zedd, but even he can't hold out forever. 7 - Dynnera - Has moved down out of the antechamber, but she's suffered quite a bit of damage. Dynnera is currently disguised as a Duergar. I hope the party doesn't forget that the Duergar in their midst is actually Dynnera. Lee's character is currently under a -4 initiative penalty, has used her teleport ability three times, and she recently summoned some allies to help the party. A celestial hippogriff (6 rounds remaining (4 hp / 0 smite)) and owl (7 rounds remaining (0 smite)) stand ready to defend, distract, or attack at her command. With a healing potion in hand, will she be able to administer the magic potion before Tanar expires? 8 - Flash - Still following the party, curiously attracted to Grenco and Zeddishous. Even Flash has been sickened by the stench of the urquirsh. Flash is still up in the antechamber. It's a big cave, full of hungry inhabitants. In this closed ecosystem, the introduction of a new food source has stimulated the permanent residents. Eager to consume this fresh meat, the scorpions and carrion crawlers battled for the tender flesh of the party members. While the party has dispatched the giant scorpions, the damage they caused will take quite some time to heal. In the meantime, the urquirsh have used the scorpions to their advantage. Now that the party is weakened, they're pressing their attack. With two party members unconscious, and a fierce battle still underway, the tide seems to be turning against the party. This could go go poorly for the party. Be sure to check back (at the journal), and find out how this battle plays out.

The party has spent the last few days exploring the seemingly endless caves and labyrinth like corridors which snake their way through the fetid heart of Firestorm Peak. On the 18th of Augot 1003, they discovered a very large cavern filled with curious natural formations, and nasty beasts.

Legend - The cave and the party members

The party has spent the last few days exploring the seemingly endless caves and labyrinth like corridors
which snake their way through the fetid heart of Firestorm Peak. On the 18th of Augot 1003,
they discovered a very large cavern filled with curious natural formations, and nasty beasts.